What Is Love Worth?
by Feral-Eyes
Summary: (Warning: Story doesn't include the actual characters of MX) Selena's daughter, Sierra, is kidnapped and to get her back, Selena's going to have to confront her past...again.
1. Overprotective

Selena walked up the stairs, a bag of groceries in her hands. She fumbled for the key to get into her apartment. A year ago she had given the use of her house over to her friends, Aaron, Liya, Lyndsay, and Jordan. She sighed, remembering the facts. Selena and her friends were New Mutants and they were on the run from the GSA. So far, they hadn't been caught, but she knew it was only a matter of time before the GSA made a move. Selena shook her head to rid herself of the thought. She finally got the key into the lock and opened the door. She stepped into her well-furnished living area and was greeted by the police.  
"Are you Ms. Mage?" One officer asked.  
"Yes, is there a problem?" she answered.  
"We understand that you are raising a one-year-old girl and that you are only seventeen yourself. Is that right?"  
"That is correct."  
"We will be taking custody of the child and relinquishing your use of the apartment," the other officer said.  
Selena stared at them. _I hate it when it comes to this_ she thought. She pushed her way into their minds and placed a fake idea of her there. When she pulled herself back to reality, they were blinking like they had just come out of a weird dream.  
"Is there a problem?" she asked them again.  
"Oh, no ma'am. There was a mistake with the address. We'll be leaving now." They made their way out of the front door and back down the stairs.  
"That's what I thought," Selena said to herself. She sighed and went to the small kitchen. She put her groceries down on the counter and then started unpacking them. When she was done, she reached for the phone. She dialed a number and waited for it to pick up.  
"Hello?" said a young man's voice.  
"Hey, it's me. I'm back from the store, do you want me to come pick up Sierra?"  
"I just put her down for a nap. You could come over and hang out until she wakes up if you want."  
"All right. I'll be there in a minute. Oh, and Derek..."  
"Yeah?"  
"Thanks for watching her for me."  
"No problem."  
"See you in a bit."  
"Bye."  
"Bye," said Selena. She hung up and went to her room to change her clothes.  
A few minutes later, she was standing in front of the door to Derek's two-bedroom house. She raised her hand to knock, but the door opened before she had the chance.  
"No fair," she said quietly.  
Derek flashed his feral eyes playfully at her.  
"I couldn't resist."  
"Sure you couldn't." She pushed her way past him into the house, to the room where her daughter was asleep. She leaned on the railing to the baby bed and looked Sierra over to make sure she was ok. Derek came into the room and put his arms around Selena, holding her. Selena leaned against him.  
"See, she's fine."  
"I know. I just get nervous when I leave her somewhere, even if it's with you."  
"You are way too overprotective."  
"You know you'd be the same way if she was yours," she said quietly.  
Derek didn't say anything, but led Selena into the living room. They sat down on the sofa, his arms still around her.  
"I know," he said, answering her, "But she's not."  
_Unfortunately_ Selena said to herself. "But she might as well be."  
"True." Derek was silent for a moment. "But it's not the same."  
"I didn't think a bunch of genes mattered that much to you."  
"Just like you didn't think knowing about Sierra mattered to me a year ago. Do you remember?"  
"How could I forget?"  
They were both silent, both thinking of the same thing, Cole. Cole was Sierra's father. About a year and a half ago, Cole and Selena had been really close. One night they had taken it too far, and Sierra had been conceived. That same night, the GSA had taken Cole captive and put a chip in his head to make him think he worked for them. It had been the last time Selena had seen him, until a year ago, when Selena's secret had been revealed. Not even Cole had known about his daughter, but the whole story had come out.  
"Selena, what are you thinking?" He felt her search his mind.  
"The same thing you are."  
Derek switched his gaze from the floor to the woman in his arms. He lifted her head up to look at him. Her eyes questioned him, but he ignored them and kissed her lightly. He knew she had anticipated his move, but he was still surprised when she kissed him back. When they finally came up for air, Selena let words play across his mind.  
_I love a man who's not afraid to take control.  
_ _Oh really_ he answered.  
Suddenly, Selena found herself on her back with Derek's lips pressed against her own again. She responded by opening her mouth, and felt his tongue enter.  
A baby's cry pierced the silence. Both teens groaned inwardly. Derek broke their contact. Selena looked in his eyes, her own apologizing. He nodded his consent and let her up to go get Sierra.

OK, here it is, my new story. R&R!!!


	2. Gone

"I'll watch her for tonight, but only so you and Derek can go out and have some peace and quiet," said Liya over the phone.  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Selena replied. She put another spoonful of carrots into Sierra's mouth.  
"Uh huh, you owe me."  
"All right, what do you want?"  
"Umm...I don't know yet. I'll have to think about it."  
Selena rolled her eyes. "Fine. Dammit!" Sierra had gotten her hands in the food she was supposed to be eating and was making a mess. "Look, I got to go. I'll see you in about an hour."  
"All right, see you then." She hung up.  
Selena put the phone down and started cleaning up Sierra's mess. "You know you're not supposed to play with your food little girl," she said, scolding. Sierra just laughed.  
"Fun, fun," she said.  
"Fun for you maybe, but not fun for Mommy." Sierra laughed again. Selena reached for the bowl that the carrots were in, and it jumped just out of her reach and floated in midair. "Sierra..." Selena warned. The bowl fell to the ground, let loose from the telekinetic force that had been holding it up. "That's better." She put the bowl in the sink and proceeded to let her daughter down from the highchair.  
Once she was free, Sierra ran to her room. Selena shook her head and hurried to wash the dishes so she could get ready for her date.  
  
An hour later, Selena was knocking on the door to her old house. It was Jordan that answered.  
"Hey Selena, Liya's...somewhere. Come in, and then I'll go and find her."  
"Don't bother," said a voice behind Jordan. It was Liya. She took Sierra from her mother and led the way to the living room. Selena put the baby bag down by the door and followed her friend.  
She sat down in a chair across from the TV, which was off.  
"Where's Aaron and Lyndsay?" she asked.  
"They're both out."  
"Oh." A few minutes passed before she spoke again. "I need to leave or I'll be late. I'll pick Sierra up in the morning."  
"The morning?"  
"Who knows what time I'll get back."  
"If you don't fall into bed with him first," Jordan said to herself quietly, though not quietly enough. Selena gave her a look.  
"It's none of your business as far as I'm concerned." She went over to kiss Sierra goodbye and tell Liya thank you again. Then, she left.  
She made her way to Derek's house, which was only a street over and walked into the house without knocking. She found him in his bedroom, laying on the bed, thinking.  
_Hey_ she thought, so as not to startle him.  
He had been thinking so much that he hadn't heard her come in. "Hey."  
Selena knew something was wrong, she could sense it. "What's the matter?"  
"It's just..."  
Selena read his mind and sighed. "I knew this was gonna happen."  
"That what was gonna happen?"  
She went over to the bed and lay down beside him. He immediately put his arm around her.  
"That you were gonna be scared of losing your innocence." She turned to look at him, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. _Don't be scared_ she thought to him. She reached up and brought his head down to kiss her. She felt him melt into the kiss, his fear ebbing away. No more words were said, as they got lost in the passion.  
  
Meanwhile, over on the other street, where Selena's friends lived, a shadow crept through the dark. It stopped at a window and looked through, watching the people inside. It moved a little, and the moonlight showed it for what it really was, a man. He crouched under the window, waiting for the right time to make his move.  
A half hour later, he was sure they were all in bed. He crept quietly up to the porch and put his hand on the doorknob. A few seconds later, the lock clicked open, giving access to the entire house. The man slipped in unnoticed and made his way to the back of the house. He opened a door to a bedroom with a baby bed, and walked over to it. Looking over the rail, he saw a baby girl with dark brown hair. He picked the child up and very gently put her into the basket he was carrying, and then slipped out of the house.  
  
The next morning, Selena woke up to the sound of water running. It took her a moment to realize where she was, in Derek's bed. She hurriedly slipped out from under the covers and collected her clothes, which were strewn all over the room from the night before. She dressed herself and climbed back in bed, just as the water was turned off. She quickly closed her eyes.  
A few minutes later, the door to the bathroom opened and Derek emerged with a shirt and boxers on. He knew she was awake, but decided to act like she wasn't. He went lay down on the bed behind her and stroked her bare back under her shirt. He ran his hand down her spine and felt her shiver beside him.  
_You can't fool me_ he thought.  
I_ know. I just thought it might be fun to try to be normal for once_ she thought back. "If you wouldn't use your powers all the time," she laughed. She rolled so that she was on top of him.  
"What? I'm not the one that can read minds!" he shot back, laughing.  
"So not funny," she said.  
He opened his mouth to protest, but Selena shut him up with a kiss. He responded by rolling them over so that he was on top, never breaking their contact. They finally broke away from one another, both breathing hard. Derek moved so that he was lying beside Selena again.  
The sound of the phone ringing broke the silence. Derek reached over to the table beside his bed and picked it up.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey, it's Liya, is Selena there?" said Liya on the other end.  
"Yeah, hold on." Derek handed the phone to Selena, who questioned him with her eyes. He shrugged.  
"Hey, what's up?" Selena said.  
"I don't really know how to tell you this without just coming out and saying it."  
"Spit it out," Selena said, annoyed.  
"Sierra's gone," Liya said quietly.  
"What do you mean, Sierra's gone?"  
"She's gone. I went to check on her this morning and she wasn't in the baby bed."  
"She can't have just disappeared. Did you check the house? She might have been playing with you."  
"I did. She's nowhere."  
"Hold on, I'll be there in a minute..." Selena looked at Derek. _You wanna come?  
Yep.  
_ "With Derek. Bye." She hung up and jumped out of bed. "I can't believe this is happening," she said, venting her stress. She started rambling about how she shouldn't have left her daughter and all kind of other stuff. Derek just let her talk, listening, but not really listening at the same time. When she was done, he took her into his arms and held her. She took a few deep breaths and immediately felt better.  
"All right, we need to get over there," she said, moving out of the protection of his arms.  
"Let's go then," he replied.  
Selena waited for Derek to get dressed in some appropriate clothes while she pulled on her jacket.  
When they finally got to the house, Selena got out of the car and inside so fast, Derek wondered if anybody saw her feral eyes. He went more slowly, knowing that before he even stepped foot into the house, Selena would have searched the whole thing already.  
_Well?_ He sent to her telepathically.  
_Nothing. She's not here. Somebody was here last night though. There's a scent I don't recognize.  
_ Derek let his eyes turn feral, and he sniffed the air. He nodded at Selena, telling her that he could smell it too. That let her know she wasn't imagining it. She closed her eyes and did a telepathic sweep of the area.  
"Yep, someone was definitely here last night besides the usual crowd."  
"You have any idea who it might be?" asked Liya who had just walked into the room.  
"Not a clue," said Selena. She sat down on the sofa and put her head in her hands.  
Liya snuck a glance at Derek and saw him itching to go comfort her._ So something did happen between them last night_ Liya thought to herself. If Selena heard her, she didn't show it.  
"Wait a minute, I do remember that scent, from a long time ago. My parents and twin were still alive and we'd been hiding out at this old factory, and this guy had come in. He was drunk and smelled like tobacco, I remember because it was so strong. But this time, it's not," said Selena.  
"Yeah, but a lot of people have that scent," said Liya.  
"But he had another smell to him that I never could place. And the guy that was here last night had the same smell."  
"It could be him," said Derek.  
"I think it is him," said Selena quietly.

.......waiting for reviews..............................still waiting..............................waiting some more...........


	3. Who Has Her

Cole sat in a big black chair behind a desk. He was waiting for his right-hand man, David Scott, to get there. David was supposed to go pick up a package at a house last night, and Cole wondered if he got caught. He smiled to himself, imagining it. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.  
"Come in," said Cole.  
The door opened to admit a man, about the same size as Cole with dark hair and eyes. He was carrying a basket.  
"Did you get her?" asked Cole.  
The man nodded, and held out the basket. Inside, a baby girl with dark hair was fast asleep. Cole put the basket down gently and turned to David.  
"You have done what I asked, and for that you shall be rewarded," he said, "You will know what your gift is when the time comes."  
David nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Cole looked down at the sleeping form that was his daughter. _Selena's gonna kill me_ he thought.  
  
"What do you mean, you think it's him? Who's him?" asked Liya.  
"Let's just say I have more to add to my story." She paused, searching for the right words. "The guy in my story, his name is David Scott. He's the one that killed my family. He found us in the factory and drove us out, cornering us in an alley. My parents created a diversion to try to save my sister, Saule, and I, but it didn't work too well, and he ended up killing my sister. David works for Cole," she finished.  
"So, you're saying that Cole wants Sierra?" asked Liya.  
"That's what I'm guessing, but I don't know why. I mean, why would he want a one-year-old baby, besides the fact that he's her father?"  
  
When his boss, Jolene Harper told him that she wanted Sierra Mage, Cole had to do a double take. She had looked at him oddly, but had not said anything. When he had asked why, she had told him, "For business reasons."  
After Cole had gotten out of the GSA, he went to work for the Genetic Mutation Center (GMC). He had always known that this place was more powerful than the one he had worked for before, but he never thought he would end up working for them. But, after he had put an end to that incident with Selena, he had first made sure that her and his daughter was safe, and then went away, to work.  
Now though, he picked Sierra up out of the basket and held her close. Sierra felt his touch and opened her eyes.  
_Dadda?_ She asked him.  
Cole nodded, his eyes watering up. A tear ran down his face as he held her even closer.  
  
"I'll be right back," said Selena. She got up and walked down the hallway to the bathroom. She closed and locked the door behind her. She had no intention of doing anything but contacting Cole, and that's exactly what she did.  
_Cole?_ She asked him after she had found her way into his mind.  
_Yeah. Are you ok, what's wrong?_ He could feel the sadness throughout her mind.  
_Sierra's gone.  
_ _Gone?_ Cole struggled to hide his thoughts, but he wasn't quick enough, Selena picked up on them.  
_Where is she Cole? I know you have her, somewhere._  
_She's with me_ he thought.  
_And why, may I ask, is she with you?  
Because my boss wants her._ Cole could feel the anger welling up inside of her.  
_Why?  
I have no idea.  
Don't give me that bull Cole!  
I'm serious. I have no idea why she wants her.  
Who do you work for?  
The Genetic Mutation Center.  
You mean that place that has the GSA beat by a long shot?  
Yeah.  
Cole, how could you?_ Selena asked him. He was silent. _Where are you, I'm coming get her right now.  
_ _You can't. She'll know I snitched.  
You should've thought about that before you kidnapped her. And if you hurt her, I swear it won't be pretty.  
I know. She'll be fine. I promise.  
Yeah, you better promise.  
_ The phone in Cole's office rang, startling Sierra. She started crying.  
_Selena, I gotta go._ He didn't hear her answer and knew she was searching his mind for where they were. He cut her off, shutting her out of his mind. "Shh...it's ok," he said, comforting his daughter, while he picked up the phone.  
"Hello?"  
"Mr. Johnson, I want you to bring in the child right now," said a voice on the other side.  
"Right away Ms. Harper," Cole said.  
"I'll expect you in ten minutes."  
"Yes ma'am." He hung up.  
  
Back at the house, Selena came back to reality. _I can't believe he blocked me out. But, not before I found out where he is_. She smiled to herself and walked out of the bathroom, back to Derek and Liya.  
"I know where she is," Selena said.  
"Where?" asked Derek.  
"On the other side of town. Cole works for this place called the Genetic Mutation Center. They're supposed to be stronger than the GSA, and a lot more powerful."  
"It sounds like we're going on another mission," said Liya, "It's about time too, it was getting boring around here."  
"Too true," Derek added, while Selena smiled again.  
"Where is everyone anyway?"  
"They're all still sleeping," said Liya.  
"But it's lunchtime already."  
"Yeah, but they don't know that."  
_Wake up call you guys!_ Selena said into everyone's mind. A few minutes later, a very sleepy Aaron, Lyndsay, and Jordan came into the room and sat down on the sofa, almost falling asleep again.  
"Wake up you sleepy heads. Don't you people know what time it is?" asked Derek.  
"Yeah, time to go back to sleep," said Jordan, annoyed.  
"Uh, no. It's time to go save my daughter from being experimented on."  
"Well, can we like go get dressed first?" said Lyndsay.  
"Be my guest."  
Everyone, except Derek and Selena, trotted off to their room to get some clothes on. Selena sat down next to Derek on the sofa.  
_It's gonna be ok you know.  
I know _Selena thought. She leaned over and kissed him, needing his touch to comfort her and felt his hand slip around her waist and under her shirt. He started to rub her back, making her moan in his mouth. _Somebody's coming_ Selena thought to him.  
_I know, but I don't wanna let you go yet_.  
Selena warned him with her feral eyes.  
"All right." He reluctantly removed his hands, just as Jordan came into the room. She sat down in a chair across from them and tried to start a conversation.  
"So, where is she?"  
"Other side of town, in a very fancy building, with Cole."  
"With Cole?"  
"Yeah. It's better than being with the Head of the GMC."  
"True."


End file.
